What You Need To Know Before Joining Affiliate Programs

by Shelia Garrett

An affiliate program is a revenue-sharing arrangement, whereby the affiliate (you), receive payment from the owner of a product or service that you promote on their behalf. They are also called Associate Programs, Re-seller Programs, Commission or Pay-Per-Sale, Pay-Per-Click and Click-Through Programs.

Affiliates refer surfers to someone else’s product or service, and get paid a “referral fee” or “commission” for
every sale that is made. It's a win-win situation! You get extra traffic and sales, and they get a piece of the action for their products being sold.

An affiliate makes a commission that may vary between 5% and 15% of the purchase price. Some programs offer as much as 50%.

There are two types of affiliate programs. They are Single-Tier and Two-Tier. With a single-tier you are paid a
commission for any sale that you refer and that’s it. With a two-tier you are paid a small percentage of any sales generated by affiliates that you recruit to join their program. The best tier to join is the Two-Tier.

Who should join Affiliate Programs?
- People looking to start Internet businesses that do not have a product or service of their own.

- Established e-business owners looking to diversity their income

- E-business owners who have an established affiliate program of their own

These are some benefits to joining an affiliate program:

- it allows you to start a home business immediately

- you do not need to develop a product or service yourself to sell

- it is a great way to start earning a sizeable income on the internet without many of the hassles that come with
running your own business

- They are great tools for promoting your web business

Remember to always read the affiliate agreement before you sign up for a program. You do not want to do business with a company that has a really high pay out. These programs
require you to accumulate hundreds of dollars in sales before they will issue you the first check.